Exhibit featuring album covers has returned to the OC Fair in Costa Mesa, where music lovers had a chance to interact with award-winning art director John Kosh on Aug. 3.

This extends to album cover art, which leads to finished covers that never get used as highlighted here. Hip-hop's direct ties to the art world have only strengthened over the last decade.

Sun Ra's groundbreaking music came with equally artful album art. Now, the cover images have been turned into a book.

Here are 30 of the most iconic hard rock + metal album covers and, also, 50 of the absolute worst. There's a saying that one cannot know darkness without the existence of light and vice versa.